The reason the city isn’t reaping the benefits of the local, state and national decline in crime, according to the report, is the “prosecutorial style†of State Attorney Angela Corey.
Prison Break
Jacksonville’s tired approach to prosecutions fails to deliver the promise of its brand
Written by Anne Schindler
Published March 20, 2012
There are certain things we know about the Duval County Jail. It is, in the words of the local sheriff, “the largest residential mental health facility†in the region. Its population is overwhelmingly poor, largely African- American, and composed of roughly 15 percent military veterans. Though all are presumed so, some unknown number of the jail’s 4,000 inmates are also actually innocent â€" falsely accused, misidentified or unfortunate enough to share a name with a wanted criminal. And 90 percent of inmates are eventually released back into the community.
Any one of those things might be enough to make a fair-minded person question the grim conditions inside the local jail â€" an overcrowded, dystopian place where suicide, rape, abuse and intimidation occur on a sliding scale from occasional to incessant. But the truth is, nobody cares about prisoners. People barely care about public school students, to be frank. But people do care â€" passionately â€" about their tax dollars, a phrase that never fails to evoke a sense of civic righteousness, even among deadbeat dads and swingers.
So it’s a curious dynamic set in motion by UNF Criminology Professor Michael Hallett’s recent report on jail overcrowding, which draws a connection between a subject about which no one cares (jail overcrowding) and one that everyone does (taxes!). As Hallett points out, the city’s jail population is up â€" way up â€" despite the fact that crime is down. To be clear: Over the past five years, we’ve incarcerated more people for fewer crimes, primarily for nonviolent offenses like forgery, burglary and fraud.
This local pattern of over-incarceration is unique among large Florida jurisdictions; the decline in crime around the state has been mirrored by a decline in jail populations in every other sizable municipality. Because Jacksonville is bucking that logical trend, it alone among Florida cities is failing to enjoy what Hallett dubs a “peace dividend†â€" the financial reward for avoiding unnecessary persecution and prison costs.
The reason the city isn’t reaping the benefits of the local, state and national decline in crime, according to the report, is the “prosecutorial style†of State Attorney Angela Corey.
Corey, who has recently made news in this publication for conducting searches of her employees’ emails and insulting the appearance of Folio Weekly reporters (http://bit.ly/ zhVkDP), was making news again after the release of Hallett’s report, a scathing assessment of “Jacksonville’s Punitive Civic Infrastructure†(http://bit.ly/FO5keL). Hallett blames Corey for pursuing a “tough on crime†agenda at all costs â€" despite the declining number of arrests, and a jail population that is “bursting at the seams.â€
The report also raises serious questions about whether the rising incarceration rate actually endangers and compromises community safety, since cycling large numbers of people through the criminal justice system further destabilizes families and communities, and tends to foster, rather than diminish, criminal behavior. The report also touches on an issue that has long been of concern in both criminal justice circles and the larger community: the cozy relationship between the Public Defender and the State’s Attorney. As Folio Weekly has previously reported, Corey worked hard to get Matt Shirk elected, and had a strong hand in the organization of his office after he won (http://bit.ly/t9As4N). That relationship may have gotten chilly of late; a public records request turned up an email from Shirk accusing Corey’s sister of being “Blacksheep,†the screen identity of a particularly brutal poster in the Times-Union’s reader comments section (http://bit.ly/zhVkDP).
But Corey has nonetheless worked for Shirk’s re-election, and both she and Sheriff John Rutherford hosted a December fundraiser for him at the home of Republican rainmaker Michael Hightower (http://bit.ly/wLLHnV). Hallett marvels in his report over the close alliance of these presumed adversaries.
“The American criminal justice system is founded upon a structure of adversarial conflict,†he points out. “When the Sheriff and State Attorney host a political fundraiser for the incumbent candidate for Public Defender … perhaps this adversarial relationship has been compromised.†Indeed, Shirk was recently bumped by a team of high-profile defense attorneys from his role defending accused teen Cristian Fernandez, a move that spoke in part to his relative inexperience, but also to concerns about his independence from Corey and his willingness to tangle with this staunch political ally.
Hallett wonders in his report whether these strange bedfellows contribute to a civic infrastructure that is overly punitive, and generally detrimental. “Is the political pressure to get tough on crime so powerful in Jacksonville that it has become the only viable ‘brand’ of Jacksonville criminal justice?†he wonders. “Even worse, is it possible that a political machine has emerged around the system with the power to sustain itself indefinitely, regardless of the costs to the community?â€
It’s a reasonable question, and one no longer confined to the realm of reporters and politicos. The community may not care about the people inside our criminal justice system, but they do care what they cost, and they should care whether their incarceration is necessary or remotely helpful. The city’s tough on crime brand has failed, and its most ardent pitchmen are showing their seams. It’s time to start again, brand new.
Anne Schindler
themail@folioweekly.com
The University of North Florida hosts a forum on Hallett’s report and the Duval County Jail on Monday, April 2 at UNF’s University Center from 7-8:30 p.m. Participants include Angela Corey, Matt Shirk, attorney Bill Sheppard, Michael Hallett and Alton Yates.
http://www.folioweekly.com/folio0320wkl004.php
Folio-Thats credible
Quote from: bill on March 21, 2012, 12:51:47 PM
Folio-Thats credible
Yup, we shoot the messenger when we don't like what they report. That figures ::)
So likewise UNF Professor Hallet is not credible?
QuoteUNF Criminology Professor Michael Hallett’s recent report on jail overcrowding, which draws a connection between a subject about which no one cares (jail overcrowding) and one that everyone does (taxes!).
You prefer your tax monies being wasted rather than reaping a peace dividend?
I have had two major items stolen and both times they were found in the possession of the thieves. Neither one was prosecuted because of "lack" of evidence and they know how to game the system. If someone is getting prosecuted it is for a good reason.
^I agree in general, Bill. But Dr. Hallett's point, not really articulated well in the Folio editorial, is that the State Attorney's Office is pursuing a "tough on crime" stance at the expense of being "smart on crime" - that is, reducing crime in ways that don't cost even more taxpayer money, either directly, by overusing incarceration, or indirectly, by increasing recidivism.
These criticisms don't just come from the left, they also come from the right, such as the group Right on Crime.
For her part, Fay could have made her point better by quoting Hallett's actual report. You can find it here:
http://www.unf.edu/uploadedFiles/aa/coas/ccj/faculty/Hallett_No_Peace_Dividend_for_Duval.pdf
Quote from: bill on March 21, 2012, 02:37:48 PM
I have had two major items stolen and both times they were found in the possession of the thieves. Neither one was prosecuted because of "lack" of evidence and they know how to game the system. If someone is getting prosecuted it is for a good reason.
The typical anecdote excuse..........just because we experienced a deficiency in the system doesn't mean we should crack down harder on the innocents.......just in case they might be guilty.
Quotesome unknown number of the jail’s 4,000 inmates are also actually innocent â€" falsely accused, misidentified or unfortunate enough to share a name with a wanted criminal.
For a breakdown of excuses used by conservatives when faced with irrefutable facts or reality, see here:
(http://cdn.front.moveon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Excuses-Conservatives-Make-When-Facts.jpg)
And on a further note.......it is quite clear from the article that started this thread, that it is the powerful few that are gaming the system for their own political gain.
Ruining innocent lives or over criminalizing minor offenses is just collateral damage to them.
If they are getting prosecuted they aint innocent
Quote from: bill on March 22, 2012, 11:04:49 AM
If they are getting prosecuted they aint innocent
Anybody can be prosecuted in the US on trumpted up charges. It's up to the defendent to prove they are innocent.
That's how the conservative criminal justice system works.............the defense and the prosecution is in cahoots with one another to maintain this distorted system where brownie points only come from putting as many people as possible behind bars.
No, not really.
The real problem with certain prosecutorial styles is seeking disproportionate, and disproportionately expensive, punishments. Overusing incarceration costs huge amounts of taxpayer money, and it leads to an increase in criminal recidivism, which costs even more taxpayer money down the line. I think Hallett makes a good case that this style is making things worse, not better.
So punishing someone for a crime they committed causes recidivism? Wow did not know that. Easy solution, prosecute no one and we can eliminate crime
Quote from: bill on March 22, 2012, 11:25:48 AM
So punishing someone for a crime they committed causes recidivism? Wow did not know that. Easy solution, prosecute no one and we can eliminate crime
I said punishing someone
disproportionately and with
disproportionately expensive punishments is the problem. My father was a prosecutor; I have no problem with prosecuting and sentencing someone for a crime they committed. However, overusing expensive punishments such as over-imprisonment is a huge expense to taxpayers that doesn't really reduce crime.
There are alternatives. For instance the ideas from Florida Tax Watch:
http://floridataxwatch.org/centers/CSJ/